Turkey has asked Interpol to enforce an arrest warrant issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November, Justice Minister Akın Gurlek said Friday.
Last month, Turkey issued another warrant against Netanyahu and the Justice Ministry is now seeking to have an Interpol red notice issued against him. A red notice is a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition or other legal action.
The move is aimed at encouraging authorities in countries other than Turkey to arrest Netanyahu. However, even if Interpol issues such a notice, it does not automatically require any country to arrest him.
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People protesting against U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, in Istanbul, March. Credit: Emrah Gurel/AP
People protesting against U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, in Istanbul, March. Credit: Emrah Gurel/AP
Netanyahu’s office issued a harsh condemnation of Turkey and its leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, seemingly responding to the announcement. “Erdoğan is an antisemitic dictator who has massacred Kurds, harbors Hamas terrorists, occupies half of Cyprus, and jails record numbers of journalists and politicians who oppose him,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on X.
The statement said Erdogan was seeking to “extend his aggression against Israel into Syria” and that Israel “will not tolerate it.”
“Erdoğan’s pathetic attempt to intimidate the leaders and soldiers of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, will go nowhere,” it added.
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Earlier this week, Israel struck Abu al-Duhur air base, in northwestern Syria, shortly after a Turkish delegation reportedly visited the site. Israel said Syria was close to violating existing security understandings with Jerusalem by allowing Turkish forces to establish a presence there.
The strikes sparked backlash, with the United States’ special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, calling them an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”
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Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel had warned Turkey it would not tolerate a Turkish military buildup in Syria. He said Israel had “made it clear” to Ankara that it opposed such a presence, appearing to allude to the strikes, which no Israeli authority has officially claimed responsibility for.
In November, Turkey issued arrest warrants on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity against 37 senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Navy Commander David Salama.
The Turkish Justice Ministry did not identify the other 32 Israelis targeted by the warrants, but said they were also senior officials. All 37 would be at risk of arrest if they entered Turkey.
With reporting by Liza Rozovsky.